DEER LODGE, Mont. — Nearly 30 years after Ronald Smith murdered two men in Montana, he apologized to the family of his victims — and for the first time, they had an opportunity to tell the killer about the pain he inflicted on them.

The day of emotionally charged testimony came Wednesday as a Montana parole board convened a clemency hearing at the Powell County courthouse in Deer Lodge to weigh Smith's application to have his death sentence commuted to life in prison without parole.

Smith has spent nearly 30 years on death row in Montana State Prison outside Deer Lodge for murdering cousins Harvey Mad Man and Thomas Running Rabbit in 1982.

Clad in an orange prison jumpsuit with his ankles shackled, Smith stood up Wednesday morning and, for the first time, issued a direct apology to relatives of Mad Man and Running Rabbit — many of whom came from the Blackfeet Indian reservation in and around Browning, Mont., to give their own testimony against Smith's clemency bid.

"I do understand the pain and the suffering I put you through," he said, facing them directly from the front of the court.

"I wish there was some way I can take it back," he added. "All I can do is go forward with my life and be a better person."

The board will forward a non-binding recommendation to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who will ultimately decide if Smith will be executed by lethal injection.

The board has 30 days to make its recommendation, but panel member Mike McKee said it will likely issue a decision during the week of May 21.

In the afternoon, the board heard from a dozen relatives of Mad Man and Running Rabbit, who each asked the panel to recommend that Smith's death sentence be carried out.

Thomas Running Rabbit IV said he never had the joy of knowing his father, but has spent his entire life watching his family suffer as Smith has pursued appeals against his death sentence.

"It weighs heavy on me and it sickens me that it has come to this," said Running Rabbit, who was an infant when Smith killed his father.

Running Rabbit said he will pursue the death penalty with as much effort as Smith has expended to avoid it.

"I will continue this to my last breath or Ronald Smith's last breath," he said.

Frequently pacing and tapping his fingers on the witness podium for emphasis, Running Rabbit concluded by turning to face Smith and pointing at him.

"Ronald Smith, I'm Thomas Running Rabbit and I do not fear you," he said.

After hearing testimony from Smith's daughter about the warm relationship they enjoy, Running Rabbit's daughter said the killing has made her jealous of them.

"I want what she has. I want what (Smith) took away," said Jessica Crawford.

Smith, 54, is the only Canadian facing execution in the U.S., and Canada's official opposition to the death penalty has given the case an added political dimension and subjected it to scrutiny on both sides of the border.

Smith was a drifter from Red Deer, Alta., who sneaked across the border into Montana with friends Rod Munro and Andre Fontaine in August 1982.

Smith was also armed with a .22-calibre, sawed-off rifle hidden in a bag.

The group met Mad Man, 23, and Running Rabbit, 19, at a bar in East Glacier and the five men spent the afternoon socializing and playing pool.

Later that afternoon, the cousins encountered the Canadians hitchhiking on the highway and offered them a ride.

Drunk and high on LSD, Smith forced Mad Man and Running Rabbit from the car and shot them so he could steal the vehicle.

Following the killings, Smith rejected a plea agreement that would have sentenced him to life in prison with no parole and asked instead for the death penalty.

The state set an execution date in May 1983 — but Smith changed his mind weeks after the sentencing, and the case has been tied up in various appeals since.

Munro, who took part in the plan to steal the car, pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping and was handed a 60-year sentence. He was later transferred to a Canadian prison under a bilateral treaty and subsequently was granted parole.

Fontaine, who hadn't participated in the kidnapping or murder, received five years for other offences committed prior to his arrest.

Among other things, the parole board will weigh evidence Smith has demonstrated what Montana legislation calls an "extended period of exemplary performance" while in prison.

Smith spent much of the morning intently listening, but largely expressionless as a succession of former law enforcement professionals and correctional officials testified he has been a model prisoner and eager student during his time behind bars — but that changed when his sister and adult daughter testified.

"The Ron Smith who is sitting in front of you today is not the same man who committed those crimes 29 years ago," said Smith's sister, Rita Duncan.

Despite being in prison nearly 30 years, Smith's regular counsel and advice to his sisters, his daughter, nieces and grandchildren via telephone help hold the family together, said Duncan.

"Ron's influence on our family is very strong. He is the pillar," she said.

As Duncan began to read a letter Smith wrote posthumously to their mother, who died in 2011, he began to break down.

Smith had handcuffs and ankle shackles over his orange prison jumpsuit, but guards freed one of his hands during the hearing — he used it several times to wipe tears from his eyes as Duncan recited the letter he wrote to their late mother.

"I'm sorry I never told you often enough how much you meant to me," Smith wrote. As Duncan said the words, Smith rested his head on his free hand and looked downward.

Although a large measure of Smith's case rested on proving he is reformed, his lawyers also argued Smith was poorly represented by an inexperienced and indifferent public defender at his original trial.

Smith asked for the death penalty out of despondency, yet the original lawyer never tried to dissuade him or send him for a psychiatric evaluation before allowing the sentence to proceed, lawyer Don Vernay said during his closing comments.

Meanwhile, added Vernay, one of Smith's accomplices, Munro, was given a determinate sentence, later transferred to a Canadian prison and paroled a few years ago.

"Rod Munro is out and walking around today. Rod Munro is equally culpable," he said.

While the parole board has set a deadline later this month for its recommendation, there is no legislated deadline for Schweitzer to issue a ruling. However, Schweitzer's second and final term in office will end shortly after Montanans elect a new governor on Nov. 6.

There is also a possibility a civil suit claiming Montana's execution method of lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment could delay an execution if Smith is denied clemency. While the civil suit would not overturn Smith's death sentence if it's upheld by the governor, it could affect the timing of any execution.

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